Your Tastes may Change but my Flavor Won't
by nightingale in avalon
Summary: Finn/Caroline trial oneshot. They may be an odd couple, but at least they're a happy one.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own TVD

**Notes:** I can honestly say I have no excuse for this. I just wanted to try it out. I'm not deserting my OTP, Carlijah, but I think Finn is under appreciated, and damn, Caroline has chemistry with EVERY. CHARACTER. ON. THE. SHOW.

Set before he dies, obviously.

Your Tastes may Change but my Flavor Won't

He's an unexpected ally, she must admit.

He strolls in one day, following behind Stefan, declaring that, in light of recent events, he's willing to settle for just killing Ester. It has something to do with a dead girlfriend, but Caroline doesn't ask to many questions.

She's just told to keep an eye on him, because of _course_ she's the obvious choice for original vampire babysitting.

As it turns out, keeping an eye on him is mostly following him around, making sure he doesn't kill anyone or betray them. Its not to terrible, considering.

She goes to the blood bank with him, then a musty record store, where his eyes lite up as he skims through the large, thin cases. They then hit several historic parts f town, where he mainly just stands and looks reflective.

He's not much of a talker.

Caroline makes little attempt to fill the silence. Normally, the background noise is so deafening she just needs to cover it with her own voice, but with him, it all seems...muted.

They slowly develop a routine; blood-bank, music, history, vodka. Of course, she has school, so that fits in their, and eventually, so does homework.

So now their routine is blood-bank, music, history, carolines' homework, vodka.

And he can't exactly help her with her homework (not that she needs help, he just loves to offer it up because he can't stand to see her get a fact wrong or mess up the inverse on an algebra problem, he's that much of a perfectionist) without talking. So they begin to chat, though not much.

But chatting leads to more chatting, which leads to explanations, which leads to me chatting, which leads to actual talking.

The routine has shifted again, so that it's now- blood-bank, music, history, carolines' homework, talking and vodka, vodka.

And when everything with every enemy is finally resolved, she's surprised to find their routine continue. She's even more surprised that now, talking has trickled int the remainder of their routine, not that she minds.

It's gotten to the point where Elena or Matt will try to start a polite conversation with him. Nd while he isn't _rude_, he isn't very talkative.

"I don't get it," Elena says, "why just you?" she's not being mean or anything, she just can't comprehend someone _not_ liking her.

And Caroline _wants_ to say "because I can't get my inverses straight and I like his silences as well," but that seems a tad profound for the situation, so instead she goes with "i guess he's just shy".

ooo

She isn't surprised that their existences intertwine.

He visits her at college and afterwords. They travel together, and he's the one she calls first hen they aren't together, a time growing steadily smaller.

Hen they visit Mystic Falls, everyone is slightly confused abut them. Because, while they hold hands sometimes, they deny being a couple. And while they call each-other "Care" and "Finny" (the later much to his chagrin), they say it's just friendly nicknames. And while they consult each-other on almost everything, they say it's just due to mutual trust.

And he's the one she cries with when her mother, and latter Bonnie, and then Jeremy, all die. And yes, her other friends are there as well, but the minute he steps through the door, and her face hits his neck, everyone ells feels the need to look away; the moment seems scarily intimate.

ooo

She can't say there's a defining moment; a second where they go from being together to being 'together'.

Maybe it's when Stefan, speaking to a new vampire, refers to them as 'the pair'. Maybe it's when they take on the same last name for their fake visa's. Maybe it's when they first kiss, but Caroline thinks it happened much before that.

The pint is, it doesn't matter.

He still corrects her inverses and she still helps him pick out music, and they still sleep beside each-other, fingers intertwined.

And they will still always be the odd couple, the happy one.


End file.
